Health Care Madness

On December 24, 2011, XMAS eve, we heard that more than 200 employees at 2 bankrupt Hawaiian hospitals learned they lost their jobs. On March 2, 2012 we heard a California (CA) doctor was charged with murdering 3 patients by over prescribing drugs and a Sacramento, CA Mercy General Hospital physician’s assistant won a $168 million sexual harassment suit because doctors called her stupid, stabbed her with needles and routinely slapped her.

On March 1 it was estimated that $60 billion a year is bilked from Medicare because of fraud and Texas is the hotbed; this came right after we heard on February 29 that a Texas doctor was charged with a $375 million Medicare fraud scheme. March 13 we were told 50 million Americans lack health insurance. March 24 thousands across the country protested the mandatory insurance coverage of birth control. April 10 we’re told the President’s Health Care Law is estimated to add $340 billion to the deficit. April 24 we heard Social Security and Medicare is expected to run out of funds by 2033, 3 years earlier than expected. Also on April 24 we heard that 16 million children are on Medicaid and get no dental care; a boy died of a dental infection that got into his brain because no dentist would take him; Florida is the worst state; Medicaid won’t pay dentists what they want so they just don’t take them; Health & Human Services (H&HS) saids the situation is getting better – 40% of the kids on Medicaid are now getting dental care. May 2 there was a Medicare bust of 107 doctors, nurses, and social workers in Tampa and Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas, Detroit, Michigan, Baton Rouge, Louisiana ($225 million), Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, Illinois; these individuals were charged with fraud that scammed taxpayers out of $452 million (this doesn’t include the previously noted frauds or scams).

On April Dr. Atul Gawande reported that he compared 2 hospitals in Texas with similar patients and found that those without so many tests being conducted did as well as those that had tests. Consumer Reports gathered doctors from 9 medical specialties and found there are 45 tests that are done too often, some of them are - EKGs to measure heart rhythm, pap smears to check for cervical cancer and chest x-rays before surgery. ABC’s Dr. Besser said the study should remind doctors of the cardinal rule – first do no harm; Besser suggests asking – what is the test for- what are you going to do with the information – is there another way to get the information; he said doctors often order tests so they don’t have to spend much time with the patient and if you’re not getting 15 minutes of the doctor’s time, you’re not getting enough. All 45 tests are on abc.com.

On February 1 were we told that there are more indoor tanning salons in America than there are Starbucks; the World Health Organization said that indoor tanning is just as bad as inhaling asbestos, swallowing arsenic and smoking. In America Melanoma is the leading killer of women in their 20s, deadlier than lung cancer; nearly 2 years ago the FDA, pediatricians and dermatologists recommended banning tanning for minors but the tanning lobbyist spent nearly $460,000 in the past 2 years defending the industry’s health claims and the FDA hasn’t taken any action. April 12 we heard that Gel manicures are now popular because they’re suppose to last longer; 4 coats of polish is put on and a UVA light is used to dry each layer; the industry said the strength of the UV is less than with tanning and if you got the manicure every 2 weeks it’s equal to 2 minutes of sun every day – this didn’t explain why hands are aging faster; in the mean time - more study is necessary to find out if skin cancer can result but dermatologists suggest that sunscreen be worn on your hands if you get the manicure. May 16 we were informed that there are 2 million skin cancers diagnosed each year in the US-one in 5 will get it in their lifetime.

Okay, let’s look at this situation. The health care law is to add $340 billion to the deficit but we have rampant Medicare fraud bilking $60 billion, doctors over prescribing drugs (January 12 blog), and unnecessary tests (value unknown). In searching the internet I found millions of dollars of Medicaid fraud in every state so I’ll assume it’s as bad as Medicare fraud. Eliminating fraud alone would reduce costs by about $120 billion. The insurance companies said birth control is cheaper than child births (2/13 blog – Catholics v Government), my February 27 – 29 blogs talked about why our medical costs more and ways to fix our system, and my May 3 blog identified that fake pharmacies are driving up drug costs.

It was said 50 million Americans do not have health insurance and I don’t understand why people are able to get elective plastic surgery while others can’t have heart surgery or assistance for a disabled child even if they have insurance (it must be that pre-existing condition loop hole I heard about that will be taken care of with the health care law). Lives are at risk and we need to change the system and our ways (get rid of a tanning industry that causes increases in health costs, eat better, exercise and check your vanity at the door). I believe that if we fix what is broken the health care law will pay for itself and get all Americans insured. If more money is needed then an increase in taxes on the rich should take care of it. 

Setting Back Women's Rights

Let’s talk more about the treatment of females. On March 31, 2012 it was reported that federal prosecutors are going after gangs forcing suburban high school girls into sex slaves; they go to social network sites and bus stops and look for girls wanting to earn money then via violence and drugs they scare the girls into it; gangs are growing in size and area making this problem larger. On April 13 the View said Public Advocacy groups want hospitals to quit giving out baby formula because they say it undermines breastfeeding and makes it look like hospitals are endorsing formula; some women have trouble producing milk, others can’t produce enough for the baby and some babies won’t take it so all of these women need the formula or the baby’s needs would be further hindered. This comes at a time when people get upset if a woman breastfeeds in public with or without covering their breasts (they should be covered). Hopefully you remember that on December 29, 2011 a Michigan mall stopped a group of mothers that wanted to breast feed; the mall said it didn’t object to the breastfeeding just the demonstration atmosphere. Breast feeding Moms united with a ‘Nurse In’ at a Texas Target because an employee was harassing a mother; they hit about 100 stores across the country and what about NASCAR star Kasey Kahne apologizing for tweeting that he finds breast feeding mothers disgusting. I would agree with Kasey if the ‘Attachment Parenting’ people are breast feeding kids in public that can hold a glass by themselves.

US News reported that on April 16 Mississippi passed a law requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and to be board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology or be eligible to be certified, meaning the physician has completed training in the specialty; it’s set to go into effect July 1. Sam Mims, the author of the legislation and Republican chairman of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee said "the intent is always to have fewer abortions in Mississippi. If the Jackson clinic shuts it's a very positive result". Governor Phil Bryant after signing the bill said "I believe that all human life is precious and as governor I will work to ensure that the lives of the born and unborn are protected in Mississippi". Julie Rikelman, litigation director at the Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, said the center is "taking a hard look at [the law] for potential litigation." In an election year when reproductive issues have already taken a high-profile role, Mississippi could become a flash point nationally if its sole clinic scales back sharply or shuts down. It is one of 4 states—the others are North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming—that have just one clinic providing abortions said Vicki Saporta, President of the National Abortion Federation, the main group representing abortion providers. In 2011 states passed 92 provisions that imposed limits on abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit group that produces data that are cited by groups on both sides of the debate. That was the most the group had seen in a year since it began tracking bills in the early 1970s; the highest previous total was 34. The Mississippi law is the "only one to require that abortion providers essentially be OB-GYNs," as opposed to simply being trained in the procedure, said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute.

The Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters Tournament every year. Per the www.qualitydigest.com’s April 11 article since 1932 the club’s men-only membership which number about 300 remains a secret. In past years the CEO of IBM has been invited to join the club as a member. Currently, Virginia Rometty is the CEO of IBM. At a recent press conference, Billy Payne, chairman of the Golf Club, deflected all questions regarding Rometty’s admission with silly, inane responses. No doubt the dinosaurs at the golf club will continue to voice their fossilized opinions while the rest of the world looks at their inactions as infantile and comedic. Perhaps there are some members of Augusta who will conclude they don’t want to be associated with a club that excludes women or with members still living in the 1940s. Rometty attended the tournament and hosted a series of events at the club for IBM customers. In Bloomberg’s April 24 article it was reported that a male shareholder asked the IBM CEO, the tournament’s biggest sponsor, if she had been asked to be a member; she thanked him for his concern and moved on (did not answer the question). The club never did answer the question as to whether or not they would keep the good old boys club or follow tradition by asking IBM’s CEO to join.

On April 26 it was reported that a Fort Wayne, Indiana Catholic School teacher was fired last June for getting in vitro infertility treatments (she has a medical condition that causes infertility); she signed a document saying she’d comply with the religion’s beliefs; the school’s pastor said she was a grave and immoral sinner; she filed a complaint with the EEOC and won but it’s thought that a Supreme Court decision from earlier this year will hurt her lawsuit; the church is saying that in vitro kills embryos and the court’s decision now allows religious schools to fire anyone for any purpose and causes discrimination; it’s unknown if she is pregnant.

On April 29 hundreds protested in New York because of the setbacks in women’s rights and reproduction rights. One good thing did happen; on May 1 the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that it’s unconstitutional to give ‘personhood’ rights to embryos. Women need to continue to take a stand on how they are to be treated and teach their girls and other women that they are not there for the whim of men. 

Pledge of Allegiance History

After the Civil War patriotism and a national feeling was at a low. Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, in 1892 originally composed the Pledge of Allegiance (Pledge) of the United States (US) for the nation’s youth to express loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America; it simply said “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and just for all.” Four revisions to the Pledge have been made since (shown in bold italics). From 1892-1923 “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all”; 1923-24 “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all”; 1924-54 “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all” and its final version in 1954 to now is “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. The Pledge was formally adopted by Congress in 1942.   

Since the 1930s groups have contended that saluting the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is contrary to their fundamental religious beliefs and a violation of First Amendment. The US Supreme Court (Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 60 S.Ct. 1010) ruled in 1940 that compelling students to salute the flag did not violate religious freedom; the Court stated that the proper recourse for dissent was to try to change the school policy democratically. In 1943 with a 6-3 vote the US Supreme Court (West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624) held that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution protected students from being forced to salute the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. The Court primarily relied on the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment rather than the Free Exercise Clause and did not address the effect the compelled salutation and recital ruling had upon their particular religious beliefs, but instead ruled that the state did not have the power to compel speech in that manner for anyone. In October 2009 the Supreme Court would not hear the Frazier v. Smith case of a Florida law that requires all public-school students, Grades K-12, to stand and repeat the Pledge, unless excused in writing by a parent. No reason for the decision was offered but to resolve the case, the justices would have had to clarify the 1943 ruling.

Since adding the words ‘under God’ during the Cold War fight against Communism, there have been several Supreme Court cases: June 25, 1962 (370 U.S. 421, Engel v. Vitale) the Court by a 5-2 ruling struck down New York State's law requiring school officials open the school day with prayer; June 17, 1963 (374 U.S. 203, Abington v. Schrempf) the Court ruled 8-1 that government mandated Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional; July 5, 1983 (463 U.S. 783, Marsh v. Chambers) by a 6-3 vote the Court permitted the practice of beginning the (Nebraska state) legislative session with a prayer given by a publicly funded chaplain (the practice had been done for many years, it had become a communication of shared values rather than a decidedly religious practice); March 5, 1984 (465 U.S. 668, Lynch v. Donnelly) the Court ruled 5-4 that the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island (RI) could continue to display a nativity scene as part of its Christmas display; June 4, 1985 (472 U.S. 38, Wallace v. Jaffree) the Court decided 6-3 that Alabama's moment of silence statute was unconstitutional; July 3, 1989 (492 U.S. 573, Allegheny County v. ACLU) the Court in a deeply and unusually fragmented decision ruled 5 to 4 (to strike) and 6 to 3 (to uphold) that while the Nativity scene was unconstitutional, the menorah display was not because the ACLU failed to bring up that the menorah is used in religious ceremonies; June 24, 1992 (505 U.S. 577, Lee v. Weisman) the Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that held that “nonsectarian” invocations and benedictions at public secondary school graduations violated the Establishment Clause because high school students even if they were not compelled to attend the graduation ceremony could feel compelled by peer pressure to attend and stand as part of the group and either join in the prayer or maintain a respectful silence out of a sense of compulsion (this approved the student's recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance prior to the prayer) and June 14, 2004 the Court reversed the June 26, 2002 Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court’s 2-1 vote in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow dismissing on procedural grounds that a lower court's ruling of a California atheist did not have the legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance (it sidestepped the broader question of whether the pledge itself is constitutional). Note: In a separate case the same Ninth Circuit Court rejected Newdow's challenge to the imprinting of "In God We Trust" on the national money, citing a Supreme Court ruling that the phrase constitutes a national motto and "Not every mention of God or religion by our government or at the government's direction is a violation of the Establishment Clause" (Judge Carlos T. Bea cited tax exemptions for religious groups and Nativity displays on government property that have passed high-court review). On January 12, 2012 a Federal judge ordered a prayer mural removed from a RI public high school. The Court has ruled that students cannot be compelled to recite the Pledge or punished for not doing so. The Pledge was written after the First Amendment (1791) and intended to pull us together as a nation; instead it’s now used to hinder our being a nation united, patriotic with the goal of liberty and justice for all. 

Memorial Day History

During the Civil War, Union soldiers who were prisoners of war had been held at the Charleston, South Carolina Race Course; at least 257 died there and were hastily buried in unmarked graves. Freedmen (freed slaves) cleaned up and landscaped the burial ground, building an enclosure and an arch labeled "Martyrs of the Race Course." Following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, there were a variety of events of commemoration. The first known observance of a Memorial Day-type observance was at the Charleston Race Course on May 1, 1865. Nearly 10,000 people gathered to commemorate the dead (3,000 schoolchildren newly enrolled in freedmen's schools, teachers, mutual aid societies, Union troops, black ministers and white northern missionaries); most brought flowers to lay on the burial field. The ceremony was covered by the New York Tribune and other national papers and was called the ‘First Decoration Day’ (Memorial Day was first used in 1882). On April 25, 1866 women in Columbus, Mississippi laid flowers at the graves of both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.

The Southern states established Confederate Memorial Day with dates ranging from April 25 to mid-June (by 1916 the June 3 birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was observed as a state holiday in 10 southern states). Across the South associations were founded after the War, many by women. The Ladies Memorial Association’s Lost Cause played a key role but the most important was the United Daughters of the Confederacy which grew from 17,000 members in 1900 to nearly 100,000 women by World War I.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the organization for Union Civil War veterans, issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" should be observed nationwide and May 30 was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. Events were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states in 1868 and 336 in 1869. The northern states quickly adopted the holiday; Michigan made "Decoration Day" an official state holiday in 1871 and by 1890 every northern state followed suit. The ceremonies were sponsored by the Women's Relief Corps which had 100,000 members. In 1865 the federal government began a program of creating national cemeteries for the Union dead. By 1870 the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been reinterred in 73 national cemeteries located near the battlefields and therefore mostly in the South. The most famous are Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC. The ceremonies and Memorial Day address at Gettysburg National Park became nationally well known starting in 1868. Ironton, Ohio lays claim to the nation's oldest continuously running Memorial Day parade (first held May 5, 1868) and the town has held it every year since. However, the Memorial Day parade in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, predates Ironton's by one year.

The Memorial Day speech became an occasion for veterans, politicians and ministers to commemorate the War and at first to rehash the atrocities of the enemy; people of all religious beliefs joined together, they mixed religion and celebratory nationalism and provided a means for the people to make sense of their history in terms of sacrifice for a better nation. By the end of the 1870s much of the rancor was gone. Around 1890 there was a shift from consolatory emphasis on honoring specific soldiers; the ceremony's hymns and speeches reflected an evolution of the ritual into a symbol of cultural renewal and conservatism. By 1913 the theme of American nationalism shared equal time with the Lost Cause and the speeches praised the brave soldiers both Blue and Gray. In July 1913 veterans of the United States and Confederate armies gathered in Gettysburg to commemorate the 50th anniversary of one of the Civil War's bloodiest and most famous battle. The 4-day "Blue-Gray Reunion" featured parades, re-enactments and speeches from a host of dignitaries, including President Woodrow Wilson (first Southerner elected to the White House since the War). Alabama’s noted orator James Heflin was given the honor of the main address (this choice was criticized as he was opposed for his racism). His speech was moderate in tone and stressed national unity and goodwill which gained praise from newspapers. By the 1950s the theme was American exceptionalism and duty to uphold freedom in the world.

The Memorial Day name for the holiday became more common after World War II and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill which moved 4 holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a 3-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day from its May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect in 1971 and after some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply all 50 states adopted the change within a few years. Since 1987 Hawaii's Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has introduced a measure to return Memorial Day to its traditional date (Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War also advocate returning to the original date); in a 2002 Memorial Day Address the VFW stated: Changing the date merely to create 3-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day. I believe they may be right. 

War v US Street Deaths

Maybe all of our people didn’t join the military to honor the dead of 9/11; perhaps some joined to pay their way through college, learn a craft or some other reason. In any case, they were volunteers defending our country and our freedoms and they were not alone. Per the militarytimes.com website, Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003 – 2012), Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (October 7, 2001 – 2012) took the lives of 6,433 Americans (in all 3 operations) through May 20, 2012. Not all of our soldiers have died at the hands of the enemy. We had a soldier kill 5 others in an Iraq clinic in May 2009, a couple suicides in 2011 because of hazing incidents, several (the latest On January 20 and February 21, April 20, 2012) were killed because of helicopter crashes due to weather or mechanical failure, on March 29 a soldier gave his life when he pushed an Afghan girl out of the way of a truck, on May 4 a soldier died of rabies after being bitten by a stray dog in Afghanistan and many of our soldiers as well as others died because our soldiers peed on Taliban dead (1/12), burned Qurans (2/12), killed innocent Afghan civilians in their sleep (3/12), and on April 18 photos taken 2 years ago (released to the LA Times) were all over the internet of American troops smiling and acting out with the body parts of suicide bombers. Hundreds perhaps more have died because a few soldiers violated our regulations and core values.

According to the August 22, 2011 Guardian website, over 400 soldiers from 47 other countries had been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn and over 1,300 for the first 9 years of Operations Enduring Freedom. In addition to soldiers, at least 1,500 private contractors died in Iraq alone and local security forces accounted for about 12,000 police killed in Iraq (2003 - 2010), over 3,000 Afghanistan policemen (2002 - the middle of 2010), and between 2,000 and 4,000 policemen have died in Pakistan. As for local military personnel over 11,000 Iraqi soldiers have died, Afghan National Army casualties were running at 2,820 in August 2010, while in Pakistan, around 3,000 soldiers have been killed. Across the Middle East (from the Sudan to the Seychelles and from Tajikistan to Turkey) and further afield in the other theatres that had become part of the 9/11 wars, local security forces paid a heavy price too. For example, more than 150 Lebanese soldiers were killed fighting against radical "al-Qaeda-ist" militants in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon in 2007. There were many others, in Saudi Arabia, in Algeria, in Indonesia. In all, at least 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and policemen have so far died and rough figures showed a total of well over 150,000 civilians killed; they included more than 400 assassinated Iraqi academics and almost 150 journalists killed on assignment. The approximate overall figure for civilian and military dead was near 250,000 by mid 2010. If the injured are included – even at a conservative ratio of one to three – the total number of casualties reaches 750,000. Add the bereaved and the displaced, let alone those who have been harmed through the indirect effects of the conflict, the infant mortality or malnutrition rates due to breakdown of basic services.

Since entering the wars in the Middle East the number of people killed here in America due to vehicle accidents has been: 2002 – 43,005, 2003 – 42,643, 2004 – 42,836, 2005 – 43,443, 2006 - 42,642, 2007 – 41,059, 2008 – 37,261, 2009 – 33,808, 2010 – 32,885 (the lowest number since 1949); I could not find a total for 2011 however it was estimated to be around 35,000 for a total of 394,582 in 10 years.

On May 1, 2012 a report said many die because we don’t use our turn signals and we know there are deaths because of cell phone use and texting. (Syracuse, NY and Hartford, Connecticut were used for a survey regarding cell phone and texting usage; after 9,000 citations were issued the citations in Syracuse went down 32% and in Hartford a reduction of 57% for hand-held and 72% for texting.) It’s no wonder that on May 7 we heard that Nevada gave Google the opportunity to test driverless cars – cars on autopilot like airplanes – a driver can take control by grabbing the wheel or stepping on the break.

In over 10 years we have lost 6,433 American soldiers in the wars against terrorism; that’s a whole lot less than the 400,000 Americans we’ve lost on the streets of the US. I think that as long as our allies support our efforts to get those that caused the 9/11 attacks killing over 4,000 people we should also support our government’s efforts. The Chicago protestors have a right to be angry but I think their anger is misdirected. Anger because our voluntary military has lost lives protecting our freedom is ironic (disrespectful) especially when we show no anger over our stupidity (lack of common sense) in driving a car or non-working investors becoming rich while 15% of our population lives in poverty; the Occupy Movement has the right idea.

It is said that the decisions you make create your destiny. Americans must remember that this is not the worst times we have survived. We’ve been through Civil and World Wars, 9/11, depressions and several other recessions. Last year, Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen said - this too will pass; you’ll come out better than before. 

Chicago NATO Protests

On May 16, 2011 protestors began marching in Chicago (prior to the 2 day NATO summit); many wanted NATO disbanded and/or the wars ended. Three Florida men with an arsenal of weapons were arrested on May 16 and released but on May 18 an undercover cop foiled their plot to use Malakoff cocktails on 4 police stations so the police would be distracted when they took the Mayor’s home, financial institutions and Obama’s campaign headquarters. The protests were relatively peaceful however, on May 19 the hacker group Anonymous took down city websites and rallied other hackers to fire upon the police; there were more arrests as some protesters tried to get through the security perimeter and 2 more plots were foiled. Chicago closed the trains and asked people not to go to work as the protests turned violent when police tried to disburse the crowd; one officer was stabbed and 3 others injured. The Summit went on and addressed continued support for Afghanistan.

All of this got me thinking. The September 11, 2001 attacks resulted in the immediate deaths of 246 victims on 4 planes (there were no survivors) including 19 hijackers, 2,606 in the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City (NYC) including 372 foreign nationals, 292 people killed at street level by burning debris and falling bodies of those who had jumped from the WTC's windows, and 125 at the Pentagon. All the deaths (3,269) in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon (23 were police officers). RT.Com on February 7, 2012 reported - Around 12,000 men and women were dispatched to Ground Zero on September 11 and a decade down the road the number of annual cancer claims has nearly tripled. Today there around 16 police officers each year in NY that apply for cancer-related disability and the statistic has some saying that it is more than a coincidence. The NY Post on September 12, 2010 reported that at least 836 Ground Zero rescue workers and volunteers have died since the attacks, including 345 from cancer. Of the heroes who answered the call at Ground Zero, 15 were killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Over 4,000 people have died because of a single terrorist attack on our soil.

I remembered the September 11, 2011 memorial. We were reminded that the whole world was riveted in 2001; there was an instant solidarity that developed between adversaries and friends of the United States. The French newspaper headline said – We are all American today (93 countries lost people on 9/11 and artifacts from the wreckage were shipped to 8 countries for memorials of their own.) In 2001 NATO invoked its charge that an attack on one is an attack on all. This collective self-defense was seen then and now around the world. Foreign countries stand by us, assisting with anti-terrorism via improved security that deters terrorists from reaching American soil and vice versa. Additionally, they did not leave our country; they remained on our soil at the United Nations, in New York City (NYC) business buildings and more. The NYC memorial has reflecting pools, names not alphabetical but near someone they had a connection with, the lone surviving tree, and the 1776 foot new World Trade Center (finished this year) marking the rebirth of our freedom and housing the museum with the remembrances of the 9/11 tragedy. It was said that Mayor Bloomberg gave $10 - $15 million of his own money to see that the monument was ready as he wanted it to be a monument to building a better world. All of this was and is a story of hope. Former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani said we’re safer than we used to be but not as safe as we should be. We’ve plugged a lot of the loopholes that existed, our airport security is much better, our gathering of intelligence has improved dramatically, the cooperation with foreign governments is better and the decomposing of Al Qaeda with the death of Bin Linden helped but also made them angrier with us. Giuliani said we haven’t done enough with port security; because of company disputes and the FCC not making a decision we still hadn’t given emergency people their own radio frequency to band them all together. Some cities and states were well prepared while others are not so people need to be alert and cooperate with the police. In my opinion, it was not just NYC that needed rebuilding after 9/11; our whole nation did; technically all Americans are survivors of that incident. I heard so many stories from direct survivors and families of the 9/11 tragedy. All were living their lives with grace, pulling their lives back together, trying to honor the departed by being better people.

We were angry when we found out that 10 years after the 9/11 attack the recommendations of the Bi-partisan Policy Center report had not been fixed; a hydrogen peroxide bomb could still make it through security and communications weren’t fixed. And per the WMD Center’s Bio-Response Report Card, the US is unprepared for a biochemical attack despite spending $65 billion in the last decade.

The protestors have a right to protest, they’re lucky they live in a country that allows such without condemnation like in Syria. But the protestors in Chicago should remember why the wars exist. I don’t believe NATO should be disbanded nor do I believe the war should end before its time; we’ve made this mistake before. New Yorkers have done their part and stand as a symbol of our resilience. It’s time for the rest of us to do what they have done; embrace the bravery shown and try to emulate it. As a point of reference tomorrow I will compare the war deaths to vehicle accident fatalities in this country. 

Increased Oil Doesn't = Cheaper Gas

A May 11, 2012 International Business Times website said – According to this month's Congressional Budget Office report on the nation's energy security "Policies that promoted greater production of oil in the US would probably not protect US consumers from sudden worldwide increases in oil prices stemming from supply disruptions elsewhere in the world even if increased production lowered the world price of oil on an ongoing basis". The report outlines possible policy solutions to help insulate (protect) US consumers but they go against the position of the oil industry and of Mitt Romney who have accused President Obama of limiting oil and natural gas production on federal lands and promoting regulatory policies that stifle energy development; they argue that more production means greater national energy security and lower domestic energy prices. The congressional report says the opposite - "In fact, such lower prices would encourage greater use of oil thus making consumers more vulnerable to increases in oil prices. Even if the US increased production and became a net exporter of oil, US consumers would still be exposed to gasoline prices that rose and fell in response to disruptions around the world. In the US demand is relatively unresponsive to price changes in the near term because households and businesses have almost no ability to substitute one fuel for another in their transportation decisions or to substantially reduce their consumption of gasoline at low cost. As a result, households and businesses are limited in their ability to reduce the costs associated with higher oil prices." Should the US increase its oil production, other oil-producing nations could decide to keep prices from falling by cutting back on their own oil production thus making the US policy moot, said the report. Instead, the report suggests Washington could embark on policies and possible legislation that would reduce the nation's demand for oil through the advancement of renewable technologies and vehicles with even greater fuel efficiency and the increased availability of public transportation. The report also suggested the US could release oil from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve to offset temporary supply disruptions, something that has happened before.

In a nutshell the May 10 Oilprice.com article said - Both the large international oil companies and the smaller independents are finding themselves increasingly locked out of those areas richest in hydrocarbons and that regulations are getting tougher, environmental accountability is rising, and taxes are increasing. State-owned firms now dominate the oil and gas industry worldwide and hold 80% of the world's oil reserves, and the fear of expropriation is preventing expansion or participation in projects in many formerly docile countries. So, the industry is turning back to the US where private development of resources is still possible and legally well-protected. If the industry tells the public and policymakers the truth then the industry's attempt to expand its US operations will almost certainly fail. The truth is that the industry wants to fulfill its primary mission, namely, making money for its shareholders and managers. The industry has pretty much gotten all the easy oil there is to get on private land and the remaining easy oil is on public land and in offshore areas controlled by the federal government. In addition, new methods for bringing both oil and natural gas to the surface such as hydraulic fracturing currently enjoy environmental exemptions which the industry got written into federal law. The exemptions are little more than methods for transferring immense environmental costs onto the public through water, air and soil contamination as well as human and animal health effects--all in order to enhance industry profits. The industry has found that the best way to distract the public from the industry's unsavory motives is to insist that its new zest for drilling America's wilderness and offshore areas is all about helping the country achieve energy independence. US politicians--the non-serious ones, at least--are happy to predict low prices for gasoline once the energy juggernaut gets cranked up but this is all a sham. The oil industry does NOT want the public to understand that no matter what happens, Americans will continue to pay (to the highest bidder) the world price for oil and its products. So as not to get caught in an obvious lie, the industry prefers to focus on how much production could grow if only public lands and offshore areas were open to exploration and drilling, implying, but not saying, that this will somehow bring prices down. It has never been the plan of the oil and gas industry to charge Americans less than it can get elsewhere in the world. And the industry does NOT mean to expand renewable energy sources or to have Americans curtail their use of energy in any way, for example, by driving less and bicycling more, the paths to energy independence. Instead, ill-informed journalists regularly transmit industry claims that are designed to make us believe that American energy independence is at hand and erroneous claims that America now has a 100-year supply. Proven and probable reserves are likelier close to 22 years of consumption at the current rate. The actions of the US are not done in a vacuum and US consumers have little to no alternative to fossil fuels when it comes to transportation (vehicles need gasoline, semis and many trains need diesel, and planes need jet fuel -- all of which are derived from oil). The nation's oil production is in the hands of private firms, companies (unlikely to withhold oil for a rainy day) that sell oil and make a profit. On March 8 Tim O’Reilly said the price of gas doesn’t have anything to do with the President; Presidents don’t solve the problem of speculation. Unfortunately, judging from recent polls, the public is falling for the industry and Republican falsehoods. 

US & World Gas Prices

Bloomberg on May 12, 2012 published an article in which they checked out the price per gallon of premium gas (PPGPG) in 55 countries and assigned a pain at the pump ranking (PATPR) based on the average daily income of the people and the share of a day’s wages to buy a gallon of gas. The highest price of gas was in Norway at $9.69 however they were #48 out of the 55 in PATPR because their share of a day’s wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 3.6%. On the other hand, India came in at #37 PPGPG with $6.06 but because the average person makes only $4.50 a day it takes 135% of a day’s wages of buy gas so it is #1 in PATPR. According to the Institute for Energy Research, a Washington-based group that opposes government intervention in energy markets, India’s consumption subsidies (10% of its budget and rising) isn't an efficient way to alleviate energy poverty because they encourage wasteful energy use and ultimately increase the price of fuel.

The Unites States came in at #44 PPGPG with $4.19 a gallon with a PATPR of #50. The US’ price per gallon is among the world's lowest and Americans' average income ($134 day) insulates them compared with poorer countries (daily wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 3.1 percent). Only 5 nations hurt less at the pump than Americans do – 3 of them are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The US paid about $4.2 billion in 2010 to subsidize oil production and consumption. Gasoline taxes account for just 11 percent of the retail price of the fuel, compared with 60 percent in Britain. The cost of a barrel of crude, at around $100 a barrel, may seem painful but is less than half the $213 cost of a barrel in January 1981 during Iranian shipment disruptions, adjusted for real growth in disposable income. 

Luxembourg - #26 in PPGPG with gas $7.24 has a PATPR of #51. Luxembourg's 500,000 inhabitants enjoy the highest per capita income in the world ($345 a day), making its moderate gas prices one the most affordable (the share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 2.1%). Saudi Arabia - #54 in PPGPG with gas $0.61 has a PATPR of #52. Saudi Arabia holds one-fifth of the world's oil reserves and is pursuing wind, solar and nuclear power to help cut in half the crude and natural gas it burns to generate its electricity. The country wants to generate a third of its electricity from alternate energy sources within 2 decades, according to government officials. Persian Gulf oil producers are seeking new ways to generate power because they prefer selling their expensive crude to gas-hungry countries rather than burning it. Saudi Arabia is OPEC's biggest producer and heavily subsidizes the price of gasoline. The average daily income is $55. The share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 1.1 percent. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) placed #51 in PPGPG with gas $1.89 and PATPR #53. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE in the 1960s it has evolved from a poor region of principalities to a wealthy, modern state with a high standard of living and diverse markets, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Economic diversification efforts in recent years have reduced the portion of oil and gas on the economy to 25%. The UAE is the 8^th biggest oil producer in the world, drawing about 2.81 billion barrels of oil a day, and the 10th-biggest consumer of gasoline. The average daily income is $186. The country subsidized about 68 percent of the cost of gasoline as of 2010 and the share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 1 percent. Kuwait - #53 in PPGPG (gas $0.88) has a PATPR of #54. Petroleum accounts for almost half of Kuwait's gross domestic product and 95% of its exports and government income. In 2010, the country approved a plan to spend $130 billion over 5 years to diversify the economy. Rising global gasoline prices have boosted government income and spending, including wage increases for public-sector employees. The average daily income in Kuwait is $128. The share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 0.7%. Venezuela - #55 PPGPG ($0.09) has a PATPR of #55. Even with a relatively low daily income of $28, the share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is the lowest anywhere at 0.3 percent. President Hugo Chavez has called in the past for the country to reduce its rising gas consumption but with fuel this cheap there's little incentive. After decades of inexpensive gas many Venezuelans consider it part of the social contract. The last time the country tried to cut subsidies, in 1989, the country was torn by riots that killed hundreds of people. The cost of filling up the 39-gallon tank of a Chevrolet Suburban at 9 cents per gallon in Venezuela is $3.51, compared with $163.41 in the US.

The US’ 2 largest importers: Canada the world's 6^th biggest oil producer comes out higher in all categories than the US (gas $5.75 making it #38 in PPGPG, income $144 a day, and a PATPR of #46 because their share of a day’s wage is 4%). Only Americans and Kuwaitis use more gas per capita than Canadians. Canada’s land mass makes for long transportation routes with additional costs that trickle through their economy and their government paid $2.19 billion to subsidize oil consumption in 2010. Mexico the world's 7^th biggest oil producer has a lower the price of gas (#48 PPGPG-($3.20) because of subsidies and favorable foreign exchange rates. However they have a higher PATPR (#27); average daily income is $31 and their share of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas is 10%. Mexico relies on the US to refine its oil into gasoline. This information validates the Slate.com and United Press International articles. I’ll also give you a Congressional Report and May 10 Oilprice.com articles that further substantiate claims that more oil does not reduce gas prices. 

Oil 101

From the Pipeline101 website I learned that there are already about 55,000 miles of pipe running crude oil in the US. Per the Tribal Energy and Environmental Information website: Within the United States, crude oil  is produced in 31 states and off the coasts of Alaska, California, Louisiana, and Texas. The top crude oil producing states are Texas, Alaska, North Dakota, California, Louisiana and Oklahoma; about one-fourth of the US’ crude oil is produced offshore  in the Gulf of Mexico. The Quoteoil.com website said - The bulk of proven remaining oil reserves in the world today are located in the Middle East (estimated 727 billion barrels); Central and South America are estimated to have 99 billion barrels, Africa about 87 billion, the former Soviet Union about 78 billion and Western Europe and China are estimated to have 18 billion barrels each, Mexico is estimated to have 16 billion barrels and India with 5 billion in reserve. Oil, coal and natural gas account for more than 85% of the energy consumed in the US (with oil accounting for nearly 40% of it).  

In my February 26 blog I told you that Wall Street speculators drove up the price of oil by 22% a barrel before it’s sold to be made into gas and per Sageworks 61.5% of what you spend at the gas pump goes to the oil company, 14% to the refinery, 12% to taxes, 8% for delivery, 2.5% to the credit card company and 2% to the gas station. On May 10, 2012 we heard that for the first time in 60 years the US is exporting more oil than its importing; some experts are estimating that we have 2 trillion barrels of oil in our country. In looking at the map shown many of the states where the Keystone pipeline is to travel already have oil, refineries and pipelines. I do understand Canada’s desire for the US to import more because it’s the shortest distance to making a profit.  I won’t bore you with more articles regarding the issues of the pipeline but do wonder why it should travel so far through the middle of our country to Texas instead of connecting with a closer state like the Dakotas. In my search for information I found that 2 new refineries are opening up (Arizona and North Dakota) which will create 600 jobs. I also discovered that the pipeline would add approximately 1,670 more miles of pipe in the US and cost about $7 billion. I personally don’t know why Texas (a strongly Republican state and top US producer) should get more of the refinery business and jobs than another state that is closer (which would cost us less) and would pose less risk to us as a nation. On March 24, 2012 it was reported that Salt Lake City, Utah residents are suing Chevron over oil spills.  

Per the Department of Energy’s September 2011 Import Highlights released November 29, 2011, Canada remained the largest importer of crude oil in September (2,324 thousand barrels per day [TBPD]); Saudi Arabia (1,465 TBPD), Mexico (1,099 TBPD), Venezuela (759 TBPD, Nigeria (529 TBPD), Colombia (510 TBPD), Iraq (403 TBPD), Ecuador (299 TBPD), Angola (283 TBPD) and Russia (275 TBPD). We also imported oil from Brazil, Kuwait, Algeria, Chad, and Oman. Total crude oil imports averaged 9,006 TBPD in September, which is a decrease of 16 TBPD from August 2011. The top 5 importing countries accounted for 69% of the US crude oil imports while the top 10 sources accounted for approximately 88%. On March 12 it’s said that the US is 3 million barrels a day less dependent on foreign oil than when the President was elected (each barrel = 42 gallons).

On May 10 Slate.com and United Press International had articles that said: Gasoline is made of oil so it sounds to a lot of people that if the US produced more oil domestically that gasoline would get a lot cheaper. But a new CBO report on gasoline prices contains this nice chart which shows that it's not so. Domestic oil production is irrelevant to oil prices because oil is a globally traded commodity making it no more expensive in importing countries than in exporting countries. Many oil-producing countries have adopted misguided consumption subsidy schemes so it's empirically true that high-production countries tend to have low prices but this is a coincidence not a strict causal relationship. Canada is a net oil exporter, Japan produces no oil, and the US is a middle case. International price differences are driven by the fact that some countries have high taxes on gasoline, some (like the U.S.) have low ones, and others have subsidies. What increased oil production does do is alter a country's trade situation. Canada imports a lot of consumer durable goods, so the more oil they export to the US the more Kitchen Aid stand mixers they can afford to import from Ohio. This can be a big deal (Argentina, for example, really needs to bolster domestic energy production to raise foreign currency reserves) but it's a different issue and it's not one the United States is facing.

I found an article on Bloomberg that shows the US standing in the world for the price of gas. This information along with a lot of other information that will follow makes me think that our problem is not how much oil we have but the number of refineries that process the crude oil. I was amazed to see that the only refinery in the northeast was in Delaware. 

National Defense Act Update

My January 3, 2012 blog gave the information that was available at the time the President signed the HR 1540 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill. Here’s more. 

H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 was introduced Apr 14, 2011 by Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon [R-CA25] and authorized appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for defense activities of the Department of Energy. The Act authorized $662 billion in funding, among other things "for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad." In a signing statement, President Obama described the Act as addressing national security programs, Department of Defense health care costs, counter-terrorism within the US and abroad, and military modernization. The Act also imposes new economic sanctions against Iran (section 1045), reviews of the military capabilities of countries such as Iran, China, and Russia, and refocuses the strategic goals of NATO towards energy security.

The most controversial provisions to receive wide attention are contained in Title X, Subtitle D, entitled "Counter-Terrorism." In particular, sub-sections 1021 and 1022, which deal with detention of persons the government suspects of involvement in terrorism, have generated controversy as to their legal meaning and their potential implications for abuse of Presidential authority. Although the White House and Senate sponsors maintain that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) already grants presidential authority for indefinite detention, the Act states that Congress "affirms" this authority and makes specific provisions as to the exercise of that authority. The detention provisions of the Act have received critical attention by, among others, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, and some media sources which are concerned about the scope of the President's authority, including contentions that those whom they claim may be held indefinitely ‘until the end of hostilities’ anyone the President believes to have “substantially supported” al Qaeda, the Taliban or “associated forces” could include US citizens arrested on American soil, including arrests by members of the Armed Forces. The bill passed the House 283 to 136.

A federal court issued an order prohibiting the indefinite detention powers of the NDAA for American citizens on the grounds of unconstitutionality on May 16, 2012 in response to a lawsuit filed by journalist Chris Hedges, Professor Noam Chomsky, Political Consultant Naomi Wolf and others. US District Judge Katherine B. Forrest ruled the NDAA 2012 likely violates the 1st and 5th Amendments. Issuing a preliminary injunction prevents the US government from enforcing section 1021 of the NDAA's "Homeland Battlefield" provisions pending further order of the court or an amendment to the statute by US Congress.

The Western Center for Journalism published an article on May 19, 2012 saying - the controversial Act has been roundly criticized as unconstitutional by groups on both the political left and right. ... Judge Forrest concluded that the Section “…failed to ‘pass Constitutional muster’ because its broad language could be used to quash political dissent.” In a statement clearly directed to lawmakers, she added,   ”Section 1021 tries to do too much with too little – it lacks the minimal requirements of definition and scienter (intent or knowledge of wrong doing) that could easily have been added, or could be added, to allow it to pass constitutional muster.” That is, Congress failed—perhaps deliberately– to define “substantial support” of terrorist groups or describe those activities which might be construed as crossing the legal line. And no law may be enforced if those to whom it applies are unable to clearly understand what a violation of that law entails. ... According to Democrat Senator Carl Levin, it was Obama himself who demanded American citizens be included under the detention law and that the President have exclusive authority to invoke the statute. “The language which precluded the application of Section [1021] to American citizens was in the bill that we originally approved…and the administration asked us to remove the language which says that US citizens and lawful residents would not be subject to this section,” said Levin after the NDAA was signed into law. In his signing statement Obama wrote that he had forced Congress to “[revise] provisions that otherwise would have jeopardized the safety, security and liberty of the American people. ... I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law.” So rather than the grand inquisitor, committing to prison any American citizens he chose to view as enemies, Obama claimed to be their champion and savior, protecting them from the excesses of an over-zealous Congress! This of course was a lie. 

The Department of Justice which defended the NDAA before Judge Forrest will undoubtedly appeal her ruling. It is a judicial process Americans must watch closely as the free exercise of our Constitutional rights depends upon the outcome.

Get A Clue

Even the rich try to stop each other more than the average American does. In 2011 Oscar Mayer and Ball Park hotdogs were suing one another over their advertising. On January 4, 2012 AT&T paid TIVO $215 million to settle a patent suit. January 6 a former top Scientologist (Debbie Cook) was accusing the Church of Scientology of spending too much donation money on opulent (lavish) buildings instead of promoting the faith; the church responded with it is building around the world which is a way to promote the religion. January 24 Macy’s was suing Martha Stewart’s house-ware company, Martha Stewart Living, for breach of contract in order to block a licensing deal with JC Penney to sell her products. January 29 a California firm was suing Walgreens on coupon fraud allegations.

Americans did get upset in December 2011 and had Coke Cola change its white can back to red; they even stopped  Verizon from charging customers $2 for paying bills online or over the phone (in an effort to get them to use the automatic payment system). In April 2012 because of public outcry the Miss Universe Organization reversed its decision not to allow a transgender to participate in the Canadian pageant (she didn’t win but at least got to participate). May 7 a manufacturer of pink slime closed plants in 3 states; 650 lost their jobs.

We had Salmonella outbreaks - December 31, 2011 in an Arizona iceberg lettuce field that affected 7 states, a Sushi outbreak in 19 states on April 4 and a Tuna outbreak in 20 states on April 14. On October 28, 2011 ABC News started telling you about the fish industry that does an $80 billion a year business. They found 19 of the 22 restaurants (in 3 cities) tested were selling Escobar which can cause stomach cramps and intestinal problems instead of white tuna. ABC saw the shrimp coming from Thailand being picked up along the side of the road. Consumer Reports did their own test of 190 pieces of seafood from supermarkets and restaurants; they sent them to a lab for DNA testing and found that 22% was not what it was sold as (Red Snapper was Ocean Perch, Sole was Sutchi Catfish from Vietnam, and Grouper was Tilefish with a high mercury content). They found widespread fraud. Per Ocean, 84% of our fish comes from overseas and only 2% is inspected and less than 0.001% is tested for fraud because a fish chart and DNA scanner is necessary to be sure. On March 16 it was reported that scallops are being injected with a chemical to take on water and thus weigh more (dry scallops from the sea are being swapped out); a fish inspector said he sees this happening 40% of the time and the stores get fooled (it was suggested that you look for whiteness and water sitting around; if they shrink in half – look for another source.) On May 18 we learned that 90% of the shrimp we buy at the grocery store comes from overseas’ shrimp farms and 10% contained antibiotics that are illegal in the US. In January because of the Dr. Oz show regarding arsenic in orange juice (OJ) the FDA said it would increase tests for low level fungicides. And, an unnamed OJ company called the FDA to report an unauthorized chemical found in their (and a competitor’s) juice coming from overseas; low levels of a pesticide called Carbendazim was found (animals studies found high levels to cause hormonal and reproductive problems); 26% of our OJ comes from overseas mostly from Brazil and Mexico; 100% of limes, 75% of apple juice, asparagus and processed mushroom are all imported and only 2% are inspected by the FDA. On February 3 the FDA found low levels of the pesticide in juice manufactured in Florida because the company mixed Brazil’s juice with our home grown OJ. We can’t afford to have regulators one on one with a business so manufacturers and importers are supposed to be responsible and police themselves. But this costs money and companies don’t want to eat into their profits.  

It’s not just food products that are harmful. On January 13 metal tissue holders were pulled from Bed, Bath and Beyond due to low-levels of Cobalt 60 (radioactive material used in medical devices). The internet folks like Craig’s List and dating services should be responsible for what’s on their sights. Craig’s List not only allows for brutal rapes and murders but the hijacking of people’s property and the death of 3 Detroit women were linked to Escort ads. On April 26 we heard that MissTravel.com launched a few weeks before is a dating service that hooks up pretty women with generous male partners for travelling and the EstablishMen website does the same thing – which makes me wonder if sites like these and others are a type of legalized prostitution and we know child pornography is also on the web. People are getting rich off these sites. 

On March 14 the Executive Director of Goldman Sachs resigned saying the environment is as toxic and destructive as he’s ever seen it. We should get a clue from this – we need the regulations that the Republicans want to do away with. 

The Rich in America

On November 8, 2011 a judge approved a $410 million class action settlement against Bank of America (BofA) that gave customers a partial refund for a decade of overdraft fees. In December an episode of Harry’s Law reminded us that the big banks were bailed out in an effort to help the home owners with mortgages but that’s not what happened. Although on January 10, 2012 the Fannie Mae CEO resigned, the banks continued with large CEO salaries and business as usual. With government urging, on March 9 BofA agreed to expand its settlement and reduce the mortgage principals of more than 200,000 homes to their current values. May 1 BoA threatened to cut 2,000 investment banker jobs and it was said that in the Investment and Commercial Banking units 100,000 jobs are on the line across the financial services industry. I thought the JP Morgan-Chase issue would get people fed up but it didn’t. Let’s look at some others that are supported with the thought that we all benefit with the rich:

Wall Street: December 30 we heard Reebok spent $64 million in advertising a toning shoe and the Federal Trade Commission got them to pay consumers $25 million for false advertising (this same thing happened to Skechers, the leader in the billion dollar toning shoe industry, on May 15, they’re paying out $40 million for false advertising of their Shape-up shoe). January 13, 2012 CVS paid $5 million to settle charges of overcharging seniors and the disabled (March 3 we hear a New Jersey CVS pharmacy for months had mixed up the cancer drug Tamoxifen with children’s fluoride). January 24 Hewlett-Packard paid $425,000 to settle charges regarding their failure to warn customers of exploding laptop batteries (thing same thing happened February 11 when BMW agreed to pay $3 million for delays in reporting safety defects and recalls to the government). March 3 BP reached a $7.8 billion settlement with plaintiffs of Gulf oil spill (doesn’t include the US government). March 7 a Texas tycoon was convicted of bilking more than $7 billion from investors in a Ponzi scheme that went on for more than 2 decades. April 12 the US Justice Department alleged that Apple and 5 publishers conspired against Amazon discounts to price fix e-books; 3 publishers settled. April 24 MetLife paid nearly $500 million to settle multi-state death benefits claims. May 1 a New York (NY) Thoroughbred Racing Executive was put on leave after it was found that he didn’t pay $8.5 million in winnings to bettors. May 7 Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay $1.6 billion in criminal and civil fines for improper marketing of the anti-seizure drug Depakote to nursing homes (said it would treat aggression in Dementia patients). May 12 the co-founder of Facebook gave up his US citizenship and now lives in Singapore to try and save millions in taxes. May 18 Facebook said to be worth $104 billion starts selling shares (90%) to institutions and the mega wealthy (AmeriTrade required buyers to have $250,000 and Fidelity required $500,000 in an account) and then 10% was offered through discount brokers (the opening price for shares was $38 and even though it was expected to triple by the end of the day when the little guy could buy it, it ended at $38.23).

Cosmetics: April 10 regulators in California (CA) tested 25 nail polishes and found that 10 of 12 said to be free of toluene (a toxic chemical along with DBP and formaldehyde) contained said chemical; the chemicals can cause birth defects, asthma and other illness if there’s extensive exposure. April 30 it’s said that the average woman applies 12 beauty products to her body every day and about 120 chemicals (men apply 6 products and 80 chemicals); Europe banned 1,200 chemicals that were being used in cosmetics and the US banned only 10 so the companies make riskier products for Americans; cosmetic companies spent $3.5 million lobbying against an upcoming bill that will prohibit the use of chemicals linked to cancer or reproductive problems. In October 2011 we heard there were more plastic surgeries going wrong and doctors were offering Botox instead for some procedures (boobs, butt). May 11 the Beverly Hills, CA Omidi brothers (one with a revoked license due to dishonesty and the other suspended for 3 years because of gross negligence) had 5 lap band outpatients die in the last 3 years sparking lawsuits and a federal investigation; it’s said they make $21 million a month and aren’t concerned about a million dollar lawsuit. 

Americans: Last year over 300,000 men got Botox as a gift; many got plastic surgery as a Christmas gift. December 14 someone in NY bought the Apple Computer Company’s founding partnership agreement for $1.6 million. December 26 an Arizona man bought a 1941 fruitcake for $525 in online auction. John James Audubon’s book Birds of America (cost $1,000 in 1827) sold for $8 million on January 21, 2012. February 14 the Boston Red Sox agreed to pay David Ortiz $14.5 million for a one year deal; the Oakland A’s agreed to pay Yoenis Cespedes $36 million for a 4 year deal and on March 2 the Cardinals reached a $75 million deal with Yadier Molina. April 21 a group of billionaires began forming a company to drill asteroids. April 25 the Kardashians signed a reality show deal for $40 million. May 18 someone paid a record amount (more than $90 million) for a penthouse apartment on the 89th and 90^th floors of a NY building (December 20 the 22 year old daughter of a Russian billionaire spent $88 million for the penthouse apartment that overlooks Central Park and was owned by a CitiGroup Chairman).

I don’t believe many of the rich care about the average American but I do think we need to save them from their criminal or foolish spending ways; vote for the guy who wants to stop Wall Street and tax the rich. 

JP MorganChase

On May 10, 2012 the Federal Reserve cleared China’s first takeover of a US bank. On May 11 we heard JPMorgan-Chase lost $2 billion in 6 weeks; the CEO who earns $23 million a year blamed the loss on errors, sloppiness and bad judgment. It was said that a tax loophole allowed the risky trading; the company’s credit rating was downgraded and their stock fell 12% losing the company another $20 billion. On May 14 the Chief Investment Officer, who made $15 million and is #8 on the Forbes list of highest paid women, stepped down along with 2 other executives. The CEO said the company made $19 billion in 2011 and with the losses it’s still valued at $137 billion. On May 15 shareholders voted to keep the CEO and let him keep his pay. On May 17 it was reported that they lost at least $3 billion.

Some said the company may have violated the Volcker Rule and this situation is more reason to have tougher regulations. The Volcker Rule is a specific section of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform (passed May 2010) and Consumer Protection Act. It was originally proposed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to restrict US banks from making certain kinds of speculative investments that do not benefit their customers as such speculative activity played a key role in the financial crisis of 2007–2010. Due to concerns of the banking industry and Republicans an amendment to the Dodd-Frank law was initiated and took until February 2012 to pass. The rule, which ended up with a number of exceptions to the ban on commercial banks conducting proprietary trading (deposits are used to trade on the bank's own accounts) is to go into effect July 21, 2012. However, during his report to Congress on February 29, 2012, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank and other regulators won’t meet that deadline.

On May 12 we heard innovators and creative people are the ones that become rich and that the rich think we shouldn’t close the incentives that allow for becoming ultra rich as they are needed. And, a Gallup poll showed that 63% of Americans think we benefit from having a rich class, 34% did not; I guess the other 3% are undecided. In any case these poll numbers were unchanged from 30 years ago. I personally think creative and innovative people have it in their blood and wouldn’t stop because they make millions instead of billions of dollars.

On May 15 the President on the View said that JPMorgan is one of the better managed banks but even if you’re smart you can make mistakes; which is why they passed Wall Street Reform. Banks are insured by the taxpayers and we don’t want them (the banks) taking risks so they have to be bailed out again. If we get the rules that were proposed/passed by Congress implemented it shouldn’t happen again; there are still those fighting it. The President said he feels our banks should invest in small businesses and homeowners and not risky investment deals. On this same date, the President was pressuring regulators to enforce the Wall Street Reform that was passed 2 years ago and we heard the FBI is opening an investigation into the JP Morgan investment losses.

On April 25, 2 dozen protesters were arrested outside a Wells Fargo shareholders meeting. On May 1 (International Workers Day) the Occupy Movement all over the country protested; 7 New York City banks received threatening notes with white powder (corn starch) inside, in San Francisco they broke windows and used spray paint on buildings, in Oakland tear gas was fired on protesters, at least 9 were arrested and in Seattle protestors smashed windows and disrupted traffic. I’m not saying these tactics are right but at least a handful of people are standing up for the Americans that are unfairly treated by rich people and/or companies.

My first reaction to the JP Morgan shareholder vote and the Gallup poll was - how f..king stupid are we. Now I know why the Occupy Movement isn’t getting the support it should. There are too many upper middle class in this country that don’t care about the poor, the people who have lost jobs or homes, or the ones that have lost their retirement because of Wall Street investments and blame the President instead of Wall Street for the problems.

It was not a surprise that Romney took the Oregon and Nebraska primaries as there is no one left to really oppose him. It was disappointing to hear that in the May 7 West Virginia Democratic primary an inmate got 40% of the votes. The Huffington Post consolidated 289 polls including those from Rasmussen, Fox, Gallup, Christian Science Monitor, YouGov, the Daily Kos, Washington Times, and Angus-Reid from May 7 through May 16 and the results were Obama 44.7, Romney 44.1%. Foxnews.com reported that Obama was gaining the support of Independents while other polls found Romney gaining support from women. 

The President gives us a lot more credit than we deserve as a people – he thinks you’ll wake up to the Republican deceit and do the right thing and vote him back in because he does care about us all and wants us to get a fair shake. 

FDA Blood Donation Rule

It was already said that there are almost 50,000 new HIV/AIDS cases annually. So, let’s look at the 2009 data used in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2010 decision.

Blacks and Latinos accounted for a disproportionate share of HIV infections relative to their population. While Blacks are 14% of the population they represented 44% of the total cases. Latinos are 16% of the population and represented 20% of the cases. Whites were 33.1%, Multiple Races 1.2%, Asian 1.1%, American/Alaskan Native 0.5% and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 0.08%. Based on the CDC’s most recent estimates, more than 290,000 women are living with HIV/AIDS in the US (Blacks accounted for 64% of new AIDS diagnoses, Latinas 18% and White 15%). It was also found that most teens and young adults under the age of 30 (13-29 year olds) were infected sexually and accounted for 39% of new HIV infections (Black between 13-19 represented 68% of AIDS diagnoses, Latino 21% and White/other 11%).

The CDC said Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) accounted for 61% of new HIV infections: Whites of all ages accounted for 37.9%, Blacks 35.9% of which the 13-29 year olds we 60.2% of Blacks or 21.7% of the total MSM cases and Latinos/others were 26.1%.

Women represented a larger share of new infections compared to earlier years; HIV incidences increased gradually until the late 1980s, they declined during the early 1990s, and have remained relatively stable since. Heterosexual contacts were 27% with women accounting for 23% (Blacks accounted for 57%) leaving 4% males. 

Drug Users were 9% and MSM Drug Users were 3% of all new HIV infections.

CNNHealth on June 14, 2010 reported - The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability (makes recommendations to the US Food and Drug Administration) voted 9 to 6 against lifting the ban on the policy that prevents gay men from donating blood in the US, provoking disappointment and anger from gay activist groups.

Current FDA rules dictate that any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even once, cannot donate blood. This rule has been in place since the early 1980s, when there were no tests in existence for identifying HIV-positive blood. Concerns about HIV tainting the blood supply prompted this policy, viewed as a safety measure. Although the committee recommended keeping this policy, the group also called the rule "suboptimal" and suggested using criteria based on individual behavior instead of broad characteristics, such as men who have had sex with other men. A report from the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law found that about 219,000 more pints of blood could be available each year if the FDA lifted the ban. Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said in its response to the decision - "The committee's decision today not only leaves a discriminatory practice in place, it also puts lives at risk". The American Red Cross also expressed disappointment about the decision, stating that "while the Red Cross is obligated by law to follow the guidelines set forth by the FDA, we also strongly support the use of rational, scientifically-based deferral periods that are applied fairly and consistently among donors who engage in similar risk activities."

The decision to ban MSM donations was made 30 years ago; the above information is 2 years old. Because we can’t discriminate based on race (Blacks and Latinos had a higher percentage of cases than population) I guess they needed another method and so they picked on MSMs.

According to the May 15 Voice of America website the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee endorsed a pill (Truvada manufactured by Gilead needs to be taken daily) that prevents HIV in healthy people and the FDA is expected to decide on the issue by June 15. Some doctors say Truvada is a step toward ending the threat from AIDS but some critics say the drug could give people a false sense of security and make them less likely to use condoms which are a more cost-effective method of prevention since Truvada currently sells for about $14,000 a year (it would cost several hundred dollars a year) in developing countries. On May 16 a panel of HIV specialists recommended an over-the-counter (OTC) HIV test. The pill sounded like it was a good idea but now that I hear the cost and there may be an OTC test, I think boys and men just need to wear condoms or take the test before having sex (perhaps there should be laws requiring such in order to save the government $27 billion a year).

I don’t think that all MSMs should be banned from giving blood – we have condoms and OTC tests to protect against the disease and we have tests for identifying HIV-positive blood – let’s go with the test results instead of discrimination and save more lives via increased blood donations.